Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Alabama

Change Region

comments

Leave the wild things where they're meant to be

fawn-09-2014-with-doe.JPG

While feeding, does often leave newborn fawns hiding in thick brush, according to Alabama's conservation department. They return several times a day to nurse their offspring. (Joe Songer/jsonger@al.com)

"Wildlife should remain where it is meant to be -- in the wild."
-- Alabama WFF Director, Chuck Sykes

With fawning season peaking in many areas across the state, Alabama's conservation department is again reminding people to leave seemingly abandoned, lost or orphaned fawns in the wild.

Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Director Chuck Sykes said does will leave fawns alone for several hours at a time during the first month or so after birth. Although this may seem neglectful, it is actually an act of protection.

While the doe is feeding, the fawns avoid detection by hiding motionless in grassy areas. The doe will return to nurse the fawn several times a day, Sykes said.

"Only when a fawn is found injured or with a dead doe is there reason to do something," Sykes said. "In most cases, the mother deer is nearby. Well-meaning individuals can actually be harming the fawn by removing it from its hiding place."

Before picking up an injured or a fawn known to be orphaned, the nearest rehabilitator permitted to handle deer should be contacted.

Sykes reminds people that most wild birds and mammals, including fawns, are protected under the law and may not be legally taken from the wild or kept as pets.

"Wildlife should remain where it is meant to be -- in the wild."

That is a lesson a Bibb County woman learned after five squirrels she was allegedly keeping illegally were confiscated, a WFF news release states.

Acting in response to complaints, WFF Enforcement Officers contacted the individual on Aug. 26 and seized five squirrels that were being kept in captivity contrary to state law. The individual in this incident received two written warnings for illegal possession of protected wildlife.

The same individual was ticketed in Florida in 2013 for unlawful possession of a protected migratory bird and rehabilitating wildlife without a permit, according to WFF.

Some of the animals seized reportedly were transported from Florida when the suspect moved to Bibb County.

Possession of the squirrels is a violation of Alabama law that makes it unlawful to possess wildlife.

WFF officials are also investigating whether the individual is in violation of a state regulation which makes it illegal to import any wild rodents into Alabama. The gray squirrel and southern flying squirrels are considered wild rodents.

"As I said last year when our Enforcement Section had to deal with several cases of illegally possessed white-tailed deer, no matter how cute and cuddly they are, they are still wild animals," Sykes said. "Again, we cannot turn a blind eye to these violations. The animals have to be confiscated. It may not be the popular thing to do, but it is our job to protect the public from the potential threats that wild animals pose to humans. In one of those cases last year, a man in Marshall County suffered serious injuries, including the loss of vision in one eye."

If the investigation determines the individual imported the wild rodents into Alabama, she could face federal charges under the Lacey Act, a law that prohibits the crossing of state lines while in violation of the laws of either of the adjoining states.

Only approved, permitted wildlife rehabilitators are allowed to keep wild animals in captivity.

"There is a system in place for those who are interested in wildlife rehabilitation to obtain proper permits in order to truly help wildlife," said Marianne Hudson, Wildlife Section Rehabilitator Coordinator. "The regulations enforced by the State of Alabama are in accordance with the best interests of wildlife and the public. To possess a wild animal as a pet demonstrates a misunderstanding of the purposes of wildlife rehabilitation."

The animals seized in this instance were relocated to a permitted rehabilitator for proper assessment and reintroduction to the wild if possible.

John Morse of Big Bend Wildlife Sanctuary in Enterprise, an approved wildlife rehabilitator, said many people think they are qualified to rehabilitate wildlife and have good intentions, but they don't have the training or facilities to properly prepare the animals to be released back into the wild.

In the past year, WFF officials have adopted stringent guidelines as to who qualifies to be included in the wildlife rehabilitator program.

"We've been working with Director Sykes, and we totally agree the wildlife rehabilitator system had to be more structured," Morse said. "The structure needed to be there. We're working with Director Sykes to tweak it, but we totally agree with the program."